Cabinet of Natural Curiosities: The Complete Plates in Colour, 1734-1765

Albertus Sebas curious creatures: a most unusual collection of natural specimens Albertus Sebas Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th centurys greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes Amsterdambased pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665?1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing unprecedented collection of animals plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731 after decades of collecting Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection?from strange and exotic plants to snakes frogs crocodiles shellfish corals insects butterflies and more as well as fantastic beasts such as a hydra and a dragon. Sebas scenic illustrations often mixing plants and animals in a single plate were unusual even for the time. Many of the stranger and more peculiar creatures from Sebas collection some of which are now extinct were as curious to those in Sebas day as they are to us now. This reproduction is taken from a rare hand-colored original. The introduction offers background information about the fascinating tradition of the cabinet of curiosities to which Sebas curiosities belonged.